Sheep Rushes (2001-2005) by Lucien Castaing-Taylor
I think we can take many different approaches to our discussion this week:
Discussing the readings in relation to the work.
Discuss the line between anthropology and documentary work, where do we draw this line? Is this piece a anthropological document or a documentary film? Or both?
We could talk about Taylor's approach compared to Luis Bunuel's Land without Bread.
Also, feel free to discuss Philippe Grandrieux's Un Lac (2008) that we saw at the HFA. Now that we all have seen the beginning and have had some time to "live with" the film, I'd love to hear what you all have to say about it
I'll post some more questions / prompts if things don't get rolling here soon.
Sheep Rushes was really boring at points but also really satisfying at others. I think this film/ installation can be anthropological as well as a documentary film. I don't have a problem connecting these two. I really enjoyed when the sheep took over the landscape. This was visually beautiful and really excited me when I saw these moments-- like the first short, the sheep climbing through the mountains, or the sheep being forced into the farm gates. Where the sheep took over the frame and the men on the horses came less relevant was awesome. The sheep were transformed into these organic lines and masses overflowing the landscape. I do enjoy how the viewer is able to see the life cycle of sheep's lives, but if it were not for this class I don't think I could sit through the whole film. I think an installation could keep me more engaged since all parts would be going on at the same time, allowing me to flow freely between them. As far as the truth factor, this film doesn't make me question the filmmakers intention and feels very close to truth. -- not like many docs we've seen where off the bat I started to question shots or actions. How the filmmaker got certain places/shots/permission/ interactions. Lucian's film felt so true--- and maybe thats why it becomes boring at certain point. He's filming whats there and most of the time not thinking so much if the shot visually is perfect or beautiful. (I think) I'm interested to see Laviathan -- at least from the the trailer it is visually more interesting and ambiguous.
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